By Glenn Rolfe

Voters Tuesday decided contested board of education races in six non-vocational school districts in Kent and Sussex counties.

Two board seats were claimed during the election in the bi-state Delmar School District, while one seat was up for grabs in the Lake Forest, Smyrna, Cape Henlopen, Woodbridge and Laurel districts.

In Smyrna, voters chose Charlie Wilson by a 660 to 387 margin over Diane Eastburn and in the Lake Forest election, the winner was current board president Earle Dempsey by a 189-62 margin over challenger Camuron Young.

On the Sussex County side, the closest race was in Laurel, where former board member David “Brent” Nichols edged Joe Deiter 147 to 140 while Dr. Ivy Bonk, a third candidate for the seat, drew 71 votes.

In the Cape Henlopen district, incumbent Janis P. Hanwell topped challenger Ashley Murray 3,108 to 1,212.

The Woodbridge election saw Margaret “Elaine” Gallant top incumbent Danielle Taylor by a 376-346 margin.

In Delmar, incumbents ruled as board president Farrah Morelli polled 304 votes to top Lawrence Singara (105) and Carol Ann Harrington (96), while Dawn M. Turner defeated Russell Smart, 281 to 225.

Several districts did not have contested school board races. Candidates securing five-year board terms without opposition included Michael Marasco (Caesar Rodney), Chandra Jackson (Capital), (Kimberly Hopkins (Seaford) and Adam Brownstein (Milford’s District C).

Also, in Milford, Scott Fitzgerald was unchallenged in claiming a one-year term in District D.

This year, no board terms were up for election in the Indian River School District. Next year, in 2022, only two of the district’s 10 board terms expire. Those are presently held by James Fritz and Madeline Moses, who were recently appointed to fill vacancies when two board members moved out of the IRSD districts they represent.

Polls on Tuesday were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Meetings at County Elections Offices are scheduled for Friday, May 21 to certify the school board election results as official.